Automotive vehicles rely on a series of fluid-carrying tubes or lines to communicate fluid from one point to another. Specific systems that rely on fluid-carrying tubes or lines include brake and fuel systems. To fulfill all operational demands of carrying such chemically-reactive fluids under high pressure, such tubes or lines are typically composed of a durable, chemical-resistant and pressure-resistant metal, such as steel.
While steel fluid-carrying tubes or lines satisfy operational demands of the vehicle, mounting these conduits to the vehicle substrate can be difficult. On the one hand, the tubes should be spaced-apart from the substrate using support brackets so as to prevent undesirable NVH and to minimize corrosion. On the other hand, support brackets often lead to metal corrosion at the point of contact as water and, in certain driving conditions, road salt tend to accumulate at the point of contact, leading to leakage caused by corrosion that results in early system failure.
Accordingly, known approaches to attaching a fluid-carrying tube or line to the substructure of a vehicle have not produced satisfactory results. As in so many areas of vehicle technology, there is always room for improvement related to systems that convey fluids in the automotive vehicle.